Humble Monthly Bundle (October) does not give Australians Hotline Miami 2 Steam key

Discussion

Because the game is effectively banned from sale in Australia, the bundle only provides a DRM-free copy (not sure how that's still not selling it).

The usual 8 Steam keys has been changed here. The game has also been unavailable for Australians on the Humble Store, which includes a DRM-free and Steam key, which is seemingly subject to the same terms and conditions as the Humble Monthly.

So how come making a Steam key unavailable for the game necessitates removing it from the Humble Store, but is perfectly acceptable to still be counted as 1 of the 8 Humble Monthly titles?

Granted the Terms of Service include

"2. PAYMENT AND DELIVERY (a) Pricing of Products. ...Humble Bundle reserves the right to change prices and availability "

it seems odd how this is applied somewhat inconsistently. Additionally (and this is where it really goes to hell), Humble have already sold Steam keys for games banned in Australia, and by my count, at least twice (Risen in the Deep Silver and Deep Silver 2 bundles.

-edit- Oh look, they're still selling Risen

Theres quite a few more games being sold on the Humble Store in their original uncut form or had been flat out refused classification in Australia.

  • Postal 1 & 2
  • Paranautical Activity
  • Saints Row IV (uncut)
  • The Witcher 2 (uncut)
  • State of Decay (uncut)

There's a few more, but I updated this on mobile. Interestingly South Park The Stick Of Truth only has a censored edition available, so Humble is well aware of restrictions.

So while they've given themselves a safety net in the Terms of Service, their reasoning is completely inconsistent. While the differences between Hotline Miami 2's Humble Store removal and Monthly bundle are questionably relevant, the fact they're now upholding laws they previously have not is undeniably inconsistent.

It also means things such as this are straight up incorrect for Australians (not $129 in value). There's also no disclaimer anywhere that region-locking may apply to Monthly Bundles, which is communicated under each title in normal Humble Bundles. Additionally, Hotline Miami 2 ROW keys will work in Australia, it's simply the distribution that is restricted. There has been no communication that these exceptions could occur in Humble Monthly's whatsoever.

TL;DR

  • Hotline Miami 2 is only DRM-free in the Humble October Monthly, no steam key given

  • Removed due to Australian distribution restrictions on that title

  • Humble ignores these restrictions on other titles

  • no indication these restrictions would be applied to Humble Monthly Bundles

  • Inconsistent consideration of title across different areas of sale (part of a bundle available to Australians, but removed from Humble Store for Australians)

Can anyone more smart than I make sense of this?

Just to clarify, this isn't about Australia's rating laws, it's about the complete muddle and poor communication that is Humble. Why are we finding out about this (through support) after we've given them the money?

Posted Oct 8, 2016, 6:24 AM UTC · edited

79
whitewizardgI5 4690/EVGA GTX 970/Asus z97-Pro/32 GB•

Why is it banned? Is it because of that fake rape scene?

3
Skutter_OPAsus GTX 1080 | i5 4670K•

Yep.

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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[deleted]

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NobodyXaldynNobodyXaldyn•

Just googled my issue and it brought me here. God damn this is disappointing. DRM free is better than not getting it at all, but I would have preferred keeping it with the rest of my games library.

2
Skutter_OPAsus GTX 1080 | i5 4670K•

Glad to be of help. I wished this issue had a bit more visibility to be honest, it's awful communication and inconsistency on Humble's part to the point they've broken our (Australia) laws (Risen). Really poor customer service, they should at least compensate us with an alternate variant of the bundle. I imagine Germany would be in the same boat, as they have even more strict video game rating than us. Hell, even if this post didn't have visibility, at least the issue elsewhere.

1
abbos_stink•

I was born here and I can't help but feel I have no freedom. Best country in the world? Please.

1
Molzillai7 6700HQ | GTX 970m | 16gb Ram•

I dont think it's America either.

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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Crystal3lfi7-4790k | GTX-970 | 24GB•

If you were to use a VPN to buy from Humble Bundle, would you be able to activate the key you get on Steam without a VPN, or would it spit out a "Sorry this can't be activated in this region" message.

I've been wanting to get Hotline 2 for so long now on my Steam account, but I also don't want my account banned for legitimately trying to give them my money for this game.

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Skutter_OPAsus GTX 1080 | i5 4670K•

It would work. This has been said in other places, and I've also managed to do it for both Risen and Hatred, both banned in Aus but can be redeemed through 3rd party sale of ROW keys

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ThatUndeadLegacyFírnen. i7-6700 @ 3.4 GHz | MSI GTX 1080 Gaming X | 16GB DDR4 •

Postal 2 is banned in New Zealand, and it's the only good postal, fucking pussies.

1